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Mississippi  Agricultural  Experiment  Station 

Mississippi  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College 
Agricultural  College,  Miss. 

March  1914 


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MISSISSIPPI  POULTRY  HOUSE 


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- — By - - 

DANIELS  SCOATES 

Agricultural  Engineer 

W.  E.  JACKSON.  PTR.,  GRENADA-.  MISS 


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2 


MISSISSIPPI  POULTRY  HOUSE 


VERITY  OF 
ILLINOIS  l.BRARY 
AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 
ACES 


Fig.  1 — Framing  of  Mississippi  Poultry  House 


/ 


MISSISSIPPI  EXPERIMENT  STATION 


3 


The  Mississippi  Poultry  House  is  designed  especially  for  the 
Mississippi  farmer.  The  idea  was  to  get  a  house,  that  would 
house  fifty  fowls,  be  modern,  adapted  to  the  conditions  on  the 
average  farm,  of  good  appearance,  and  yet  be  reasonable  in  cost. 

The  essential  features  of  this  house  are:-  First,  it  has  an  op¬ 
en  front.  The  open  front  house  is  considered  today  to  be  the  best 
as  it  keeps  the  fowls  in  better  physical  condition.  It  is  not  neces¬ 
sary  to  use  a  curtain  over  the  front,  as  no  parts  of  Mississippi 
have  severe  enough  winters  to  need  it.  Second,  the  house  is 
raised  two  feet  off  the  ground.  This  is  done  to  provide  adequate 
shade  for  the  fowls  during  the  long  hot  summer  months.  It  has 
another  advantage  in  that  it  tends  to  make  the  house  rat  proof. 
Third,  it  can  be  open  on  all  sides.  Solid  doors  are  provided  on 
three  sides.  These  solid  doors  can  be  raised  during  the  summer, 
thus  allowing  the  house  to  become  as  cool  as  possible.  During 
the  winter  months  these  doors  are  closed  and  the  house  made 
tight  and  free  from  drafts.  Fourth,  it  is  inexpensive.  This  house 
should  not  cost  over  $35.00,  and  where  lumber  can  be  bought 
very  cheap,  and  the  work  done  by  farm  hands  at  leisure  times,  it 
can  be  put  up  much  cheaper. 

Location. — Place  the  poultry  house  on  a  south  or  east  well 
drained  slope.  Poultry  need  lots  of  sunshine  and  dry  conditions. 
If  there  is  a  choice  of  soil,  a  gravelly  loam  not  too  sandy  is  the 
best.  Face  the  house  to  the  south.  Have  plenty  of  range  or 
pasture  handy.  Do  not  let  part  of  the  range  be  on  the  back  gal¬ 
lery  of  the  farm  house.  Nevertheless,  the  poultry  house  should 
not  be  too  far  from  the  farm  house  as  the  women  folks  are  usual¬ 
ly  the  poultrymen  of  the  farm.  Keep  the  poultry  house  away 
from  other  farm  buildings  on  account  of  vermin. 

Plans. — Figure  1  shows  the  house  as  it  will  look  when  all  the 
framing  is  done  and  before  any  boards  are  put  on. 

Figure  2  shows  the  floor  plan  of  the  house;  this  gives  the  over¬ 
all  dimensions,  and  locates  the  posts  and  studs. 

Figure  3  is  a  view  showing  how  the  house  would  look  if  cut 
in  two.  It  will  help  in  locating  the  roosts,  and  framing  side  doors. 

Figure  4  shows  the  finished  house  as  the  front  will  appear. 

Figure  5  shows  the  finished  back  and  north  side. 

Figure  6  shows  how  the  east  side  will  look.  The  west  side 
will  have  the  same  appearance. 

Foundation. — The  foundation  is  made  of  four  brick  piers 
which  are  12  inches  square,  extending  2  feet  above  the  ground 
and  from  6  to  12  inches  in  the  ground.  The  brick  should  be  laid 
up  with  cement  mortar  made  of  one  part  Portland  Cement,  and 
three  parts  clean,  coarse  sand.  Wet  the  bricks  before  they  are 
laid.  Solid  concrete  piers  can  be  made  in  place  of  brick  if  they 
can  be  built  cheaper.  An  eight  inch  clay  sewer  tile  stood  on  end 
and  filled  with  concrete  makes  a  good  pier.  It  has  the  additional 
advantage  of  offering  smooth  sides  to  the  invading  rats,  and  other 
undesirable  animals.  In  the  top  of  each  pier  should  be  inserted  a 


4 


MISSISSIPPI  POULTRY  HOUSE 


Fig.  3 — View  through  center  of  House  to  show  framing 


MISSISSIPPI  EXPERIMENT  STATION 


5 


|  by  15-inch  bolt.  7  inches  of  this  bolt  should  project  above  the 
top  of  the  pier.  The  sill  can  then  be  bolted  to  the  piers  by  means 
of  these  bolts. 

Framing. — The  framing  of  the  house  is  shown  in  figure  1.  It 
is  built  up  of  2-inch  rough  lumber.  By  studying  this  figure  care¬ 
fully  no  difficulty  should  be  encountered  by  any  person  handy 
with  the  hammer  and  saw  in  erecting  this  house. 

Flooring. — The  flooring  should  be  made  of  ship-lap  in  order 
to  get  the  floor  tight  and  keep  the  house  from  being  drafty. 

Siding  . — The  sides  are  covered  with  1  by  12’s  and  the  cracks 
battened  with  1  by  3’s. 

Roofing. — The  roof  is  covered  with  1  by  12  sheathing  laid 
close  together.  Then  it  is  covered  with  a  good  grade  of  prepared 
roofing.  It  does  not  pay  to  buy  cheap  prepared  roofing  as  it  will 
not  last  much  longer  than  it  takes  to  put  it  on. 

Doors. — The  front  door  is  covered  for  the  most  part  with  wire 
netting  while  a  small  part  is  solid.  The  size  of  this  door  is  shown 
on  the  floor  plan,  figure  2. 

The  solid  doors  are  shown  in  view  of  north  side,  figure  5,  and 
the  view  of  the  east  side,  figure  6.  The  west  side  of  the  house 
will  have  a  solid  door  the  same  size  as  the  east  side.  These  doors 
are  hinged  at  the  top  and  can  be  held  open  by  means  of  a  prop  or 
wire  and  hook.  The  openings  are  covered  on  the  inside  with  wire 
netting  as  shown  in  figure  3. 

There  is  a  small  opening  in  the  east  side,  figure  6,  for  the 
fowls  to  enter  and  leave  the  house.  A  12-inch  sliding  board  can 
be  placed  on  the  inside  as  a  door  for  this. 

Roosts. — The  arrangement  and  spacing  of  the  roosts  are 
shown  in  figures  2  and  3.  These  roosts  are  made  of  dressed  2x4* s 
with  the  top  edges  rounded  off.  It  is  essential  that  these  roosts 
be  free  from  knots,  and  nail  holes.  Such  places  offer  excellent 
breeding  places  for  mites. 

Dropping  Board. — The  dropping  board  should  be  made  of  J- 
inch  dressed  lumber,  and  built  so  as  to  be  easily  removed  for 
painting  and  treating  to  keep  free  from  mites.  The  object  of  the 
dropping  board  is  to  catch  the  droppings,  and  keep  them  off  the 
floor,  making  it  easier  to  clean  the  house. 

Nests. — Figure  7  shows  how  to  build  the  nests.  These  nests 
can  be  either  built  off  the  floor  and  attached  to  the  studding  or 
they  can  be  built  separate  from  the  building  and  placed  on  the 
floor  up  against  the  wall.  The  advantages  of  this  style  of  nests 
are;  the  top  is  sloping,  preventing  fowls  from  roosting  on  top  of 
them;  they  are  dark,  preventing  the  eating  of  eggs;  and  the  top  lift 
up,  allowing  the  eggs  to  be  removed  with  little  difficulty. 

Bill  of  Material.— The  complete  bill  of  material  for  building 
this  house  is  given  below. 

Four  piers  2  feet  above  and  1  foot  below  the  ground  and  12 
inches  square  requires  275  brick. 


6 


MISSISSIPPI  POULTRY  HOUSE 


h  IG.  4 — V  leW  Ui  bOUlii  Side 


.biG.  t> — view  oi  north  side 


MISSISSIPPI  EXPERIMENT  STATION 


7 


Mortar: 

Sand: 

Cement: 

Sills: 

Joists: 

Plates: 

Studdings: 


Girts: 

Floor: 

Rafters: 

Siding: 

Battens: 

Slnathing: 

Roosts: 


1  part  cement  to  3  parts  sand 
1-5  load 

2  sacks 

4  pieces  6  x  6  x  12,  rough 

5  pieces  2  x  6  x  12,  rough 
2  pieces  2  x  2  x  12,  rough 

x  12, 
x  10, 
x  16, 
x  12, 
x  14, 
x  16, 


2 

3 

4 

1 

1 

5 


pieces 
pieces 
pieces 
piece 
piece 
pieces 
12  pieces 
7  pieces 


2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

1 

2 


x 

x 

X 

X 

X 

X 


4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 


rough 
rough 
rough 
rough 
rough 
rough 

x  12  x  12,  rough,  ship-lap 
x  4  x  14,  rough 


20  pieces  1  x  12  x  16,  dressed 
18  pieces  1  x  3  x  16,  dressed 


Dropping  Board: 


Nests: 


15  pieces  1  x  12  x  14,  dressed 

3  pieces  2  x  4  x  12,  dressed 
1  piece  2x6x8,  dressed 

4  pieces  J  x  12  x  12,  dressed 

1  piece  i  x  6  x  16,  dressed 

2  pieces  2  x  3  x  12,  dressed 
(Two  sections) 

5  pieces  1  x  12  x  12,  dressed 

1  piece  1  x  6  x  12,  dressed 

2  pieces  1  x  8  x  12,  dressed 
2  pieces  2  x  4  x  12,  rough 
4  pieces  1  x  6  x  16,  rough 
2  pieces  1  x  6  x  14,  dressed 

13  pieces  1  x  4  x  16,  dressed 
2.1  squares  of  3-ply  roofing  (prepared) 

2  gallons  of  oil  and  coloring 
Hardware:  120  square  feet  of  poultry  netting 

Nails:  25  lbs.  8  d. 

10  lbs.  lOd. 

15  lbs.  20d. 

4  lbs.  5d. 

3  6-inch  Butt  hinges  for  front  door 
10  4-inch  T  hinges  for  side  doors 

4  bolts  f  x  15  inches 

Acknowledgements. — Much  credit  is  due  to  Professor  W.  F. 
Kirkpatrick,  formerly  Poultryman  of  this  station,  but  now  at 
Storrs,  Conn.,  for  his  assistance  in  designing  this  poultry  house. 

The  nest  details  are  after  those  published  in  Iowa  Experiment 
Station  Bulletin  132. 


Doors: 

Corner  Finishing: 

Roofing: 

Paint: 


Hinges: 

Bolts: 


Farm  Building  Plans. — Residents  of  the  state  pf  Mississippi 
can  obtain  free  of  charge  plans  and  suggestions  for  barns,  poultry 
houses,  silos  and  other  farm  buildings  which  they  intend  to  build. 

Address  all  correspondence  to  Agricultural  Engineer,  Agri¬ 
cultural  College,  Mississippi. 


Fig.  6 — View  of  east  side  Fig.  7 — Nests 


